Denton Record Chronicle
07:27 AM CDT on Monday, May 22, 2006
By Peggy Heinkel-Wolfe / Staff Writer
A member of the Mustang Special Utility District board of directors filed a
complaint with state environmental officials last week, asking state officials
to look into possible illegal payouts and conflicts of interest within the
district’s administration and governance.
Mike Frazier’s complaint comes on the heels of a hard-fought election, when three challengers tried unsuccessfully to unseat incumbents Robert J. Houlihan, Peggy Morris and M.L. “Sonny” Snow.
Frazier, whom the board reprimanded last year for quietly surveying employees about their job satisfaction and the quality of their supervision, said he had been talking with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality for a while, but held off on filing the complaint until after the election.
“Basically we have a [water district] board thinking the same way as a water supply corporation,” Frazier said, adding that he’s been frustrated by the lack of transparency in the group’s governance since its transition to a governmental entity in 2002. “If I want to know something, I have to file a Freedom of Information request for it.”
Mustang used to be a water supply corporation, but became a special utility district in 2002. By doing so, it became a political subdivision and is subject to many more open government laws. The district covers approximately 100 square miles in northeastern Denton County, a high-growth area that includes parts of Little Elm and Frisco.
Many parts of Frazier’s filing stem from the water district board’s response to his requests for information and a previous complaint for an open meeting violation, which included a district letter demanding that he reimburse about $10,000 in attorney’s fees.
Although state law permits a governing body to ask for such reimbursement, it usually can’t ask after the fact.
But Snow said the district’s request is legitimate.
“He caused the district to spend this money,” Snow said. “The decisions were made as a board and now he’s dragged it back up.”
Frazier also said that he was bothered that the district didn’t notify its customers that there was an election and that it posts meeting agendas on its Web site after the fact.
“They might put an agenda there a week later, and without the minutes,” Frazier said.
Snow said the board is following the rules and regulations that pertain to the district, including managing potential conflicts of interest.
“We’ve got growing pains and we will have for some time,” Snow said.
PEGGY HEINKEL-WOLFE can be reached at 940-566-6881. Her e-mail address is
pheinkel-wolfe@dentonrc.com
COMPLAINTS AGAINST DISTRICT
Mike Frazier, a board member with the Mustang Special Utility District, has complained about the district’s governance to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which has oversight in such matters. Below is a summary of the main points in the letter he sent May 15.
The district adopted new bylaws in January that:
n are more restrictive for director qualifications that the state allows.
* limit a director’s ability to complain about the district more than state and federal laws permit.
The district adopted resolutions that:
* permit the general manager more spending than the bylaws allow.
* demand reimbursement of legal fees incurred relating to open records requests and open meetings, which is not permitted under state law.
* establish payment schedule for meetings greater than state law allows.
The district adopted a code of ethics that usurps state authority by:
* permitting the removal of a director beyond the authority of the district.
* limiting a director’s ability uphold his oath of office.
* permitting an ongoing conflict of interest with district fuel purchases at a director’s private business.